From the Observer Reporter

By Barbara Miller

Often at odds over polling places they considered inaccessible to the disabled, the Tri-County Patriots for Independent Living have invited Larry Spahr, Washington County elections director, to be one of two speakers at the group’s membership luncheon next week.

Asked if this meant TRIPIL was declaring a truce in its battle with the county, Andrew Cooper, the organization’s deputy director, said Tuesday, “It means we still have an open dialogue. It was not always an open dialogue. We’re continuing to work with them, but our goal is 100 percent accessibility. That won’t change.”

Spahr said he considered the quest for completely accessible polls “always an evolving effort. You’re not going to hit 100 percent satisfaction at one time.”

With an eye on this year’s presidential election, TRIPIL conducted a survey of the majority of Washington County polling places and found many of them deficient because they lacked designated parking spaces for the disabled, ramps or door handles that could be opened by pressing a bar.

Last year, a Washington County intern measured doorway widths to determine if polling places had entrances with three feet of clearances - wide enough to accommodate a wheelchair - and evaluated other aspects of all 185 precincts.

“We compared notes,” Spahr said of TRIPIL’s and the intern’s surveys.

Scott Fergus, Washington County director of administration, said the county spent about $22,000 before the April 22 primary on hardware and mobility mats to make polling places more accessible.

Another example of the communication that developed between TRIPIL and the county was the group’s participation in eight training sessions for local election board members.

Disabled voters explained to the boards the difficulties they have experienced when attempting to vote.

For the April 22 primary election, the county appointed Joyce Thornburg as accessibility services supervisor in charge of fielding questions on the issue.

“It was quite smooth,” Thornburg said Tuesday. “Nobody called.”

Forty-four polling places potentially could pose problems for people in wheelchairs because of doorways narrower than 36 inches.

“We didn’t want to say they were inaccessible because we didn’t want to scare people away,” Fergus said.

TRIPIL also asked Spahr to review the Help America Vote Act and its significance to disabled voters. Cooper said he’s also hoping Spahr will take questions from members.

The advocacy group just completed a survey of polling places in Greene County, and it will next tackle the issue in Fayette County, Cooper said.

Also addressing the estimated 75 to 100 TRIPIL members will be Washington Mayor Sonney Spossey, who is reviving the Mayor’s Commission for Disabled Individuals.

“We have work on pulling that back together,” Spossey said. “Sometimes it takes something like this to get you going.”